Beneath the polluted clouds of DayBlack, Georgia, exists a murderer. After hundreds of years of killing to survive, he no longer wants to simply exist . . . he wants to live. DayBlack is the story of Merce, a former slave who was bitten by a vampire in the cotton fields. Four hundred years later, he works as a tattoo artist in the small town of DayBlack. The town has a sky so dense with pollution that the sun is nowhere to be seen, allowing Merce to move about freely, night or day. Even darker than the clouds are the dreams he’s been having that are causing him to fall asleep at the most awkward times (even while he’s tattooing someone). As he struggles to decipher his dreams, someone from his past returns with plans for him—plans that will threaten his new way of life and turn him back into the cold-hearted killer he once was

My Review:

DayBlack is officially the best comic that I have read in 2016!! (so far!)

From the illustrations, to the plot, to the diversity, this Comic bares it all.

​The author, Keef Cross is a tattoo artist, and he doesn't shy away from displaying his creative tats with the readers. They are stunning !

I really loved the fact that the main character is a POC.

In short, an exquisite , weird, diverse, and intriguing read.

I highly recommend reading this book . It contains some mature content, so it is not for everyone.

About the Author:

I make art, it's truly an escape. An escape from stereotypes and expectations put on "black art" and it's creators. It seems like most people are comfortable seeing black people portrayed walking to church, playing a jazz horn, braiding hair on the porch and things of that nature. There isn't anything wrong with that, but that's not all we are, and that's not all we do. Similar toblack cinema and radio, audiences have gotten used to and even anticipate these redundant one sided offerings of black life.

Growing up being influenced by Ralph Bakshi, Vaugn Bode', Wendy Pini, and Robert Crumb to name a few, really shaped my visual aesthetic, and tone of my paintings, but even more so, my approach to creating my comic book, "DayBlack". I found that those underground comics of the 70's always had one foot in sexual raunchiness and drugs, and another foot in social commentary, a combination that fascinated me as a kid. Who knew that in those adult comics I hid from my mother, I would find my individual voice and style.

​ I'm all about pushing progressiveimages and ideas about my people to the forefront whenever I get the chance. TV, radio, and film won't do it, but I feel like art is the last medium that has been corrupted the least, and with the help of other like minded artists who aren't afraid to challenge these notions of what black art is and can be , we can help change the way the world sees us, and the way we see ourselves, one gallery at a time.​